Food trucks have made a respectable name for themselves in the food industry, and not as a last resort place to eat, either. They rank as some of the most highly sought-after places to grab a meal throughout the United States, and Missouri is no exception.

People line up to grab a sweet treat from Scoops in St. Louis.
Photo courtesy of Scoops

There are a heap of food trucks in our state’s borders and often, they’ll travel near you. You can find the food trucks’ locations on social media and their websites, but sometimes you’ll come across a new truck by chance and discover your new favorite meal. No matter how many food trucks you sample, you’ll never get the same thing twice. We’ve rounded up twelve must-try food trucks with everything from tacos and Hawaiian specialties to loaded potatoes and desserts so the next time you’re on the road, you’ll know where to stop.

Columbia

Mr. Murphy’s
Current location at Mr Murphy Stuffed Potatoes on Facebook

Jheron Nunnelly, also known as Chef J, shows off his loaded baked potatoes. Photo courtesy of Mr. Murphy’s

Can a potato be a full meal? When Chef J puts his signature touch on it, absolutely. Jheron Nunnelly owns Mr. Murphy’s, the food truck known for gigantic loaded potatoes. On a date night with his wife Kendall, they came up with a menu full of stuffed potatoes with smoked meats and a plethora of toppings. That is now the menu at Mr. Murphy’s.

“We did it for fun,” Jheron says. “We actually made all of the potatoes that we came up with on our own menu, and then we went with it. A year and a half later, I had an opportunity to get help with the starting funds for my food truck.”

The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri offered to help Jheron with the starting funds in exchange for catering some events. While deciding on the name, Jheron and Kendall started looking for slang terms for potatoes and landed on Mr. Murphy’s.

“We took the opportunity,” Jheron says. “We cleared our savings account, and we have Mr. Murphy’s now.”

Mr. Murphy’s opened in 2019. On the menu, there are eight flavors to choose from, such as The Mediterranean that is made with smoked chicken, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, onions, black olives, peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and Greek dressing, and one of Jheron’s favorite, the Smokey Pot Roast made with smoked pot roast, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives.

“I’ve been cooking for multiple years, so we came up with some off-the-wall recipes that you wouldn’t usually think of with potatoes. They actually turned out really well,” Jheron says.

If you love the flavor combination but want to try it on something else, you can have it on nachos or a salad instead. Mr. Murphy’s mouthwatering Potato Soup is also on the menu, and Jheron frequently adds rotating specials. The food truck travels through mid-Missouri but is willing to go further for events.

“We’ll travel wherever potatoes sell,” Jheron says.

Ozark Mountain Biscuit Company
Current location at OzarkMountainBiscuits.com and Ozark Mountain Biscuit and Bar on Facebook

Columbia’s Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co. offers country classics and unique creations. Photo courtesy of Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co.

Flaky, buttery biscuits are a staple at this bright yellow food truck, but that is far from all that’s offered. Ozark Mountain Biscuit Company opened in 2013 in Columbia and has made quite a name for itself in mid-Missouri and won best food truck in the 2020 Discover the Best of Missouri Life Awards. The menu is full of country classics and unique creations.

“The idea behind the concept came from Grandma’s cooking, and biscuits are a big part of Southern home cooking and also a great vehicle for sandwiches,” General Manager Paddy Jernigan says.

If you want something hearty, try The Boss Hog, which is an open-faced biscuit topped with greens, pulled pork, gravy, Arkan-Sauce—a house-made tangy barbecue sauce—and crispy fried onions. If you prefer something more traditional, try the biscuits and gravy or the bacon or sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit. The biscuits are made from scratch every morning before opening.

The Cajun Catfish features crispy Mississippi-raised catfish topped with pickled red onion, kale slaw, and remoulade sauce. Photo courtesy of Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co.

“You want to have food you can pump out quickly, but is still good and fresh, and that’s why we landed on the biscuit,” Paddy says.

If you’re gluten sensitive, replace the biscuits with the gluten-free cornbread, and vegetarian options are available as well, along with daily specials.

“Most of the specials come out of staff creations,” Paddy says. “We love to eat our food, but sometimes we like to get a little creative with it to keep it fresh for us. We like to pass that along when we land on something fun that really works.”

The biscuit truck offers catering and boxed-meal delivery for local businesses and events. If you can’t make it to the truck, frozen Ozark Mountain Biscuit Company biscuits are now sold at local grocery stores in Columbia, and the truck’s first full-service restaurant, Ozark Mountain Biscuit & Bar, opened in 2021 at 1204 Hinkson Avenue.

St. Louis

Buzz’s Hawaiian
Current location at BuzzsHawaiianGrill.com

The mission of Buzz’s Hawaiian is to bring a taste of Hawaii to the Midwest. Photo courtesy of Buzz’s Hawaiian

Thomas “Buzz” Moore and his wife Leta serve up authentic Hawaiian food in the St. Louis metro area. The Loco Moco is a crowd-pleasing dish that is made with white rice, seasoned hamburger patty, fried egg, and brown gravy. The musubi—made with rice, Nori Furikake rice seasoning, spam, egg pancake, and Nori (seaweed paper)­—is another customer favorite.

“Our mission is to introduce St. Louis and the Midwest to Hawaiian cuisine, something that the West Coast has been enjoying for years,” Thomas says.

Thomas lived in Hawaii for six years, and two of his children still do. In 2017, he decided to introduce some of his favorite meals to The Gateway City.

“We really go the extra mile to make sure we are bringing our ingredients from Hawaii,” he says.
The ogo seaweed, fruit juices, and fresh fish are all shipped in from Hawaii. Buzz’s Hawaiian Grill travels around the St. Louis area and is available for catering.

Scoops
Current location at Scoops Water Ice on Facebook

Multiple flavors of Scoops’s delicious dairy-free water ice. Photo courtesy of Scoops

Water ice is a smooth and refreshing dessert that is dairy-free. Scoops uses locally sourced fresh fruit to enhance the flavors. There are twenty flavors to choose from, and if you’re twenty-one or over, you can order an alcohol-infused Tipsy Scoop.

Doughboys Wood Fired Pizza
Current location at Doughboy’s Wood Fired Pizza on Facebook

Doughboy’s Wood Fired Pizza serves made-to-order, eight-inch pizzas that are ready in a matter of minutes in the St. Louis area. There are a multitude of topping options available, including bacon, buffalo chicken, portobella mushrooms, olives, pineapple, feta cheese, and more.
Create your own pizza or try one of the specialty pizzas, such as the Italiano with Volpi Genoa Salame, pepperoni, Italian sausage, and green olive, or the Doughboy’s Club made with a ranch-based sauce, grilled garlic chicken, bacon, and tomato.

Truck Norris
Current location at TruckNorrisSTL.com and Truck Norris STL on Facebook

Truck Norris is known for its innovative takes on comfort food. Photo courtesy of Truck Norris

Todd Norris takes the comfort food and classic meals we all know and love and puts his signature twists on them for his food truck, Truck Norris.

“Everyone gets a good chuckle with that,” Todd says. “I lucked out with the last name Norris, and it is a food truck, so it just made sense.”

The menu features meals to satisfy every type of craving, such as the Mac ‘n Cheese Grilled Cheese and the STL Cheese Steak Burrito, which is made with steak, sautéed bell peppers, caramelized onions, cilantro-lime rice, chipotle mayo, and STL beer cheese, which was created with Four Hands Brewing Co. and Imo’s Pizza. But the most popular item on the menu is the Tot-Chos.

“It’s a twist on your good old fashion nachos but with tater tots,” Todd says. “We have a number of different versions.”

The original Tot-Chos are made with pulled pork, Code 3 Spices Patriot BBQ Sauce, homemade queso, lettuce, grilled corn, sour cream, and house-made candied jalapeños.

Springfield

Pineapple Whip
3850 S. Campbell Ave., 1147 S. Glenstone Ave., and 1517 W. Battlefield, Springfield

It’s not a snowcone, and it’s not ice cream, but it’s somewhere in between. This family-run business is more than just a dessert stand in Springfield, it’s one of the biggest summertime traditions. There are six delicious dairy-free flavors to choose from: pineapple, strawberry-kiwi, mango-peach, grape, banana-pomegranate, and orange.

Kansas City

Miranda’s Mexican Food Truck
3029 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City

Indulge in authentic street tacos, tortas, chicken flautas, quesadillas, chicken wings and tenders, burritos, and huaraches with the meat of your choice at this food truck in Kansas City. Miranda’s Mexican Food Truck is parked at a permanent location.

The Funnel Cake Truck
Current location at TheFunnelCakeTruck on Facebook or book the truck at TheFunnelCakeTruck.com

If you’ve ever looked at a sweet treat and thought about frying it, The Funnel Cake Truck probably already has. This dessert truck offers deep-fried candy bars, Oreos, twinkies, and more. It travels throughout Kansas City, in both Missouri and Kansas and is available for booking.

Twisted Taters
Find current location at TwistedTaterKC.com

Twisted Taters takes French fries to the next level. The Idaho Fryz are made with nacho cheese, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, ranch sour cream, and green onions. The KC Fryz do a great job of representing Kansas City with slow-smoked pulled pork, nacho cheese, and barbecue sauce. Lori Lee opened the food truck in 2013 and landed on fries for obvious reasons.

Twisted Taters takes fries to the next level. Photo courtesy of Twisted Taters

“It just sounded like a great idea,” Lori Lee, the owner of Twisted Taters says. “Who doesn’t love fries? And then you add all that wonderfulness on top.”

Around the State

Zydeco’s Cajun Kitchen Food Truck, Moberly
Current location at Zydecos.co and Zydeco’s Cajun Kitchen Food Truck on Facebook.

Zydeco’s Cajun Kitchen Food Truck is a spicy seafood haven. Photo courtesy of Zyndeco’s

This seafood haven was opened by Lynn and Randy Perkins in 2018 and offers comfort food for hungry customers.

“We moved from New Orleans, Louisiana, and ‘retired’ here in Missouri as Cajun food truck owners,” Lynn says with a laugh. “We’ve never worked harder in our lives!”

The Gumbolaya meal combines the traditional jambalaya with chicken Andouille gumbo—a hearty stew made with deep roux, okra, smoked chicken, and Andouille sausage—to create a standout meal. Everything on the menu is twelve dollars or less.

Red beans and rice is one of the classic cajun dishes served at Zydeco’s Cajun Kitchen Food Truck. Photo courtesy of Zyndeco’s

“Our customers are loving the flavors of Louisiana,” Lynn says. “We are thrilled to be a part of the Missouri food scene.”

The Crooked Boot
Find current location at The Crooked Boot on Facebook

Enjoy seafood, po’boys, burgers, sandwiches, and loaded fries here. Plus, custom spice blends and merchandise are available for purchase at TheCrookedBoot.com. Follow hashtag #WheresDaBoot on social media for updates.

Article originally published in the May 2021 issue of Missouri Life. It was updated in July 2024 to reflect food truck closures.